Many severely physically handicapped persons--especially youngsters--have extreme difficulty performing everyday functions that normal children take for granted. Many of these people may suffer from gross motor control problems that affect their ability to write, draw, eat and move their limbs.
Therapeutic aids have been developed to assist these individuals in strengthening their muscles or training them to cope with handicaps. Some of these aids can be used to help in carrying out various chores. Most of these devices, however, are specifically designed to provide assistance with only one particular problem, or with only one specific task, such as writing. A device for providing therapy, especially by means of improving individuals' writing skills, is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,363 issued to McGuire on Apr. 29, 1986, entitled THERAPEUTIC AID. This device comprises a pivotable linkage that can be adjusted to provide selective resistance to a person trying to move a pencil or pen about a paper or a work surface.
The above-mentioned invention is not unlike the therapeutic device of the present invention, in that it also has pivotable linkages that can assist a patient or individual with writing. The present invention, however, features far greater versatility and universality, in that it provides means for allowing the user to do useful work by actually performing a multiplicity of tasks.
The present invention was designed primarily for children but could also be adapted for adults. The inventor has discovered that physically impaired children often must adapt themselves to an enabling device rather than having the device adapt to them. This is why the invention was made to be so versatile. If the person using the device has good fine motor control, required to hold a pencil, crayon or spoon, for example, but cannot control the spastic movements in his or her arms, a wrist restraint gives the extra support for completing the tasks while the invention dampens and eliminates unwanted movements. If the person using the device does not have refined fine motor skills, but can hold onto the object, then the use of a writing stylus or cutting tool makes it possible to do the otherwise impossible tasks of writing, coloring, drawing, cutting, etc. Even if grasping the stylus or cutting tool is difficult, Velcro.RTM. straps can be used to help hold the hand in place. Another versatile aspect is that a nut on the middle joint of the device can be tightened so that the user works in the horizontal plane only. This helps to dampen or eliminate unwanted upward movements of the user's arm. Likewise, if found necessary, the user can operate in the vertical plane exclusively.
The device in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,363 has a middle joint that is positioned above the table. In this position, the middle joint has the disadvantage of restricting, rather than facilitating the movement needed to feed oneself. The middle joint taught in this patent does not allow for arcuate movement towards the mouth, which is necessary for feeding. This middle joint can also accidentally come dangerously close to an eye or other facial feature.
Another impediment against feeding in the above described, patented device is its barrel handle. This handle is designed exclusively for writing control. The person using this device cannot feed himself or herself because the hand is not free to grasp food.
Another disadvantage of the patented device is that it uses ball joints. The upper control knob positioned on top of the middle joint prevents movement in all directions once the ball joint is tightened. Therefore, it cannot move in arcuate paths for feeding purposes, once it is engaged in a writing function.
By contrast, the device of the present invention uses disks at the joints, which provide for more selectivity of movement. The middle joint of the present device is positioned on a flat work surface, which helps a child to move a pen or pencil or cutting blade more easily about the work surface. Also, because the middle joint is disposed on the work surface, more stability is provided when the wrist restraint is in the vertical plane. The end of the linkage is provided with a wrist attachment for securing the wrist of the child. This allows the hand of the youngster to reach alternately for food or for a writing implement. Thus, the child can first grip a writing device, and thereafter let go of the stylus in order to grasp food adjacently placed thereto.
In addition to writing and eating, the device of the present invention can also be fashioned with a cutting or shaping tool attachment for making paper cut-outs. The fingers of the child are protected from sharp surfaces of the cutting blades by means of a circular guard plate. The cutting blade is designed to swivel like a castor, to provide the child with greater mobility in performing the cutting task.
The inventive device has the capability of selectively restricting movement in a more facile manner than the aforementioned patented device. The present invention has, as one of its main purposes, to provide a multiplicity of functions that the handicapped child can perform using the same therapeutic apparatus.
The present invention features improvements over the device that was the subject of the aforementioned parent application, which features make the apparatus more facile. The present invention is more easily assembled and disassembled than its parent. The middle joint of the device of this invention has an interchangeable arm with spring tension that helps lift the user's arm to facilitate eating, thereby providing a range of linkage control to suit the ability of the user. The cutting tool now has one or two wheels to provide stability as it is moved across the table. The tool at the end of the linkage is now illuminated by means of a penlight and an adjustable fiber optic cable. The fiber optics adjust to intensify and direct light towards th e work surface. The present invention also features an improved wrist support that is movable through a complete 360.degree. of rotation.